OpenAI employees are writing checks. Big ones.
Rank-and-file workers at the lab have donated over $215,00 to Guardrails Alliance, a new super PAC dedicated to strict AI regulations. This group launched last month with an initial $5 million war chest. It calls itself populist, backed by tech labor and unions.
They have a clear enemy.
Their target is Leading the Future, the pro-industry PAC funded by $100+ million from tech bosses. Including Greg Brockman. OpenAI’s president. And cofounder.
“Tech billionaires… funded the super PAC Leading the_future to keep AI unregulated.” — Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe
WIRED has confirmed seven current employees and one former staffer donated. The PAC shared donor names exclusively with us before the first public FEC filing on July 15.
Two employees are already visible in the upcoming disclosure. Five more will follow later.
Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe gave the biggest chunk. $200,00.
A research engineer since 2022 he spent years building strategies to mitigate AI harms. Now he wants guardrails. Actual legal ones that hold companies accountable. He says his decision to fund the opposition was “easy.” He’s tired of watching his work potentially go to waste if regulation never comes.
Does the money matter?
In absolute terms not really. These donations are small against Guardrails’ goal to raise $15million this cycle. And they’re dust compared to the $50million Brockman and his wife Anna promised to Leading the Future.
But the signal is loud.
Tensions are boiling inside OpenAI. Brockman’s funding of Leading the Future made some staff uncomfortable. They pressed execs for answers on the company’s ties. OpenAI leadership tried to distance itself, citing Brockman’s personal capacity. Now some workers are going direct. Using their own paychecks to fight back.
Shauna Thomas co-founded Guardrails Alliance. She isn’t worried about the financial gap.
She’s a seasoned political organizer. She knows you don’t need to match dollars. You just need to expose them. When you show people what industry PACs do, public opinion swings. It’s cheaper than buying ads.
Thomas watched Leading the Future launch last year. She realized regulators would struggle. Politicians hesitate when a $100million threat hangs over them.
Leading the Future claims it just wants to oppose policies that “stifle innovation.”
Reality check their first big move tried to sink Alex Bores. He wrote New York’s AI safety law. He lost his primary last month despite huge support. The pro-industry group backed opponents nationwide.
OpenAI’s Chris Lehane helped set up the PAC. He consulted with Brockman but doesn’t run daily ops. A spokesperson reiterated that Brockman acts personally. Employees are free to donate too, they say. Even if it’s to fight their employer’s PAC.
Gabriel Wu, a safety researcher at OpenAI, gave $5,00.
He wants to stop unaccountable ultra-wealthy individuals from controlling the future. Julie Steele and Jason Wolfe also chipped in $5,00 each. David Farhi, ex-research manager, gave $3,00 before he left the company last summer.
“It became abundantly clear… that AI is going to present our world… [with] unprecedented opportunities and challenges.” — David Farhi
Jesse Hunt, spokesperson for Leading the Future, denies stifling debate. They say they actually support federal regs. They claim a positive agenda.
But they’re not alone in the crossfire.
Public First Action backed by $20million from Anthropic also supports safeguards. Thomas says Guardrails is different. No massive corporate donors. Just broad interests.
Both PACs threw money behind Alex Bores. His race cost $27million in ads alone. A bloodbath.
More names drop soon. The July filing will likely include John O’Farrell. Former Andreessen Horowitz partner.
He wrote an op-ed criticizing his former firm for using Leading the Future to intimidate politicians who ask hard questions about governance.
O’Farrell hasn’t commented to WIRED yet. But his money is on the table.
The lines are drawn.
